New Year's Eve
by TraceAce
Summary: An unexpected guest arrives on Jim's doorstep.


Disclaimer: I don't own anyone and I'm not making cash off this.

A/N: Just a fic I threw together for New Years. :D

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It was nine at night when the doorbell rings. Jim glanced at his clock for a moment, a look of confusion crossing his features. He knew he had told everyone that he would meet them at the party and he hadn't been expecting any visitors. He dried his hair a bit with the towel nearby and pulled on his pants. After a few seconds of searching, he gave up on finding his shirt and wandered over to the door, flinging it open.

He promptly turned a rather festive shade of red. Of all the people in the world, he never would have expected Pam to be standing on his doorstep, now staring oddly at his half-dressed frame.

"Aren't you cold?" she asked softly and he felt his cheeks growing hotter.

"N-No," he managed to stammer, scratching the back of his head. It was an absolute lie, of course. It was freezing outside, with a cloudy sky that hinted at snow. There was an awkward, quiet silence between them before finally Jim snapped out of his daze. "…What's wrong, Pam?"

An expression crossed her face that Jim could not wholly read. She seemed to realize where she was and took a step back, suddenly looking down at her shoes instead of him. "I-I'm sorry. You must be busy. I'll…"

He interrupted her abruptly. "I'm not busy at all! Uh, I mean…come in, it's freezing out here."

She didn't need to know he was twenty minutes late for the party he was supposed to attend. In fact, he was already formulating an excuse for not showing up to it for when he would discreetly call back his roommate to cancel.

He stood aside and she entered, tugging her scarf off quietly as he closed the door behind her. He turned to see her glancing about, looking a bit lost in her thoughts. After a few seconds of wondering exactly what brought her to his home on New Years Eve, he realized he still was painfully half-naked, still standing with only his towel on. Turning red a bit, he cleared his throat. "Let me get changed."

He threw on what he had been planning on wearing for the party. He stared at himself in the mirror, taking a breath. Whatever she was doing at his house was likely due to something Roy did, and he knew that perhaps it was his chance tonight to show her how much better he was than him.

He fixed his hair a bit before walking out, moving down the hall until he entered the living room area again. He glanced around until he spotted Pam, who had taken it upon herself to sit down on his couch and pull off her coat. She was hunched over, her hands covering her face. He slowly approached her, placing a hand on her shoulder before circling around the couch and sitting next to her.

It was then that he noticed she was hiding tears. A frown slowly formed as he remained still, not sure what he should do. Would she recoil if he tried to hug her? There were times she backpedaled out of the blue, pushing him away before he got any closer to making her see how much he cared about her. Mustering the courage, he gently placed an arm around her. To his surprise, she leaned into the embrace, burying her face in his shirt, her hand clutching him gently.

"No tears, come on now," he whispered in her ear, trying to calm her down.

He just let her do what she needed to do, holding her in silence. She eventually composed herself, pulling away slowly. A part of him felt a twinge of disappointment as she did so. She wiped at her eyes, looking sheepish.

"I didn't mean to…I should go, I think. I don't know why I…"

"I don't want you to leave like this," he shook his head slightly. "What's up?"

"Roy. He…he promised we would go out tonight, but I came home to this note."

She pulled a small piece of paper out of her pocket and held it out to him. He took it, opening it slowly.

_Pam –_

_Went out with the guys._ _Don't wait up for me. _

Jim scowled a bit as he folded the note, handing it back to her. "What an…" He stopped mid-sentence, biting his tongue. "I mean, that's…that's not cool."

"He promised we would have the best time tonight. That he was taking me somewhere special. I thought…" she trailed off, biting her lip a bit. "…I just thought that, you know, he was going to go all out for me, because I had been saying I've felt a bit like I'm in his way."

Jim sighed heavily, scratching the back of his head nervously. Every ounce in his being wanted to take her and tell her that someone like her deserved better. He didn't even care if the better wasn't him, though he hoped it would be. There was always an enormous amount of sadness around her whenever Roy let her down, and it seemed to happen more and more frequently. Instead of focusing on the negatives, Jim made a silent decision to instead work on making her feel better.

"Well, who needs Roy? I have chips, I have dip, I have soda and a TV. Would you be my New Years Eve companion? Plenty of stuff to go around. I can even dig out some sort of cool party hat. Eh? Eh?" he nudged her slightly with a playful grin. "Come on, _party hats_."

Pam actually cracked a smile and giggled a bit. "Okay, but only for the hats."

He exited, getting things together as he promised. As he poured a bag of chips into a bowl, he picked up his phone and dialed quickly. The answer on the other line came almost right after the first ring.

"Where the hell are you? Your blind date has been waiting—"

He kept his voice down. "…I know, I know. I'm sorry, man, something came up. My…uncle was in an accident, and I'm just not in the mood to…you know, do stuff."

He didn't have an uncle. His roommate did not need to know this, however.

There was a pause. "…I see. How bad off is he?"

"I'm not sure. Waiting for my mom to call," he replied. It was far too easy to keep up the lie. He rummaged through a hallway closet, pulling out two party hats. "Tell my date I'm sorry?"

"Will do. I'll see you tomorrow, then."

He didn't wait for a reply and hung up. Jim looked at the phone and hung up as well, sighing. He had a feeling he hadn't fully convinced his friend.

"Who were you talking to?"

Jim looked over, startled. Pam was standing in the hallway, leaning against the wall. He gave a sheepish smile.

"No one. Just…my mom. Here's your hat," he held out the simple triangular paper hat. It was a rather generic form of a party hat, with colorful streamers and the word 'PARTY' decorating it. She put it on and Jim couldn't help but laugh.

"Your turn," she nodded, taking the hat from him. He leaned down, extending his chin, and Pam carefully placed it on his head, making sure it was secure. She took a step back before adjusting it slightly so it was exactly on top. Satisfied, she nodded her head. "There."

He smiles warmly. "Thanks. Beer okay?"

"Yeah, I could use the drink."

"I'll be right out, then. Get comfortable."

He went back to get the random food items and entered the living room. She was curled up on the chair, her coat still tightly wrapped around her frame. He put the food down and walked over to a closet, pulling out a comforter from the top shelf. He wandered over, placing it over her frame. She looked at it before smiling, pulling it up slightly.

"Thanks," she said, taking the beer he handed to her.

"No problem," he nodded, sitting down. He glanced at the TV. "Twilight Zone?"

"I love this marathon," she grinned, drinking a bit. "Do you mind?"

Jim suddenly found a whole new reason to love her.

"You're the first person who didn't bitch about me watching this. Of course I'm fine with it," he nodded, glancing at the screen. "The broken glasses episode. I love this one."

She shifted a bit on the couch before placing half the covers onto his lap. He looked down at it and looked at her. She had moved enough that her whole body was touching his and he likely could die at that moment and be happy. Trying not to look bashful, he tugged the covers up his body a bit and tried to relax.

They watched in silence for a while, just the two of them. Pam slowly got comfortable enough to be basically leaning against him, the side of her chin resting against his arm. He forced himself not to put his arm around her, thought the temptation was there and strong.

"Thank you for this," she suddenly said, about an hour and a half into things. He glanced down and nodded his head.

"Ah, come on, it's nothing," he replied modestly. "Cheap beer and chips. Hardly a way to treat a guest."

"It means a lot," she persisted and fell back into her previous position.

Near eleven, he looked over to see she had fallen asleep, actually appearing quite peaceful. Jim watched her for a while as she breathed in and out slowly and finally gained enough courage to reach up with his unused hand and push aside the stray locks that had fallen out of place. She didn't stir one bit at the motion, and he lingered for a second as he touched her cheek before pulling away. He exhaled, feeling the familiar twinge of jealousy well up in him. Roy had no idea what an amazing person Pam was. Not at all.

When it was nearing midnight, he finally nudged her awake. She groaned a bit until finally she opened her eyes and sat up, stretching her arms out wide. "…What time is it?"

"Ten minutes to midnight. You might want to head home soon," Jim said with a nod.

"Yeah, I guess so."

He thought he detected a sigh, but he didn't know for sure.

Helping her up, he reached down and grabbed her coat, holding it out to her. She hesitated before taking it, smiling slightly. "Here, I'll walk you out."

They exited together, Jim holding the door open for her and then following her out into the cold air. Snow had begun falling, an inch on the ground already. Light bathed the streets from the above lamp posts, making the nearly untouched snow sparkle. They stood on his step.

"I know what you did," she said suddenly and his heart sank. Had she been awake when he had touched her cheek? He looked down quickly, glad that the lack of light that obscured his features.

"About that, I'm…"

"Thank you," she said, taking his hand gently. "I heard you broke a date up for me. You didn't have to do that, you know."

He ventured a look up, realizing she had meant something entirely different. Exhaling, he shook his head. "It's okay. It was a blind date. I probably had a better time with you than I would have had with her."

From inside, the sounds of counting down could be heard. He glanced in his doorway, seeing the ball beginning to drop. As it hit one, he turned and grinned at her. "Happy New Year. Here's to another fun-filled year of selling papers."

Without a word, Pam stepped forward, leaning up to kiss him. He was startled at first but slowly put his hands around her waist, pulling her closer. She gently placed a hand on his arm, squeezing it slightly. What he had thought was a simple midnight tradition – people were supposed to kiss someone after all – lingered for a minute or two. Finally she pulled away, staring up at Jim in a slight daze.

"Oh god, Jim," she whispered, as if only now realizing what had happened. "…I, I didn't mean to…"

He didn't have many chances and this was one of them. Throwing caution to the wind, he stepped forward, kissing her again. For a moment, he thought she was going to pull away. She relaxed though, slowly, pushing up against him, tilting her chin up a bit more.

When the finally pulled apart, she stared up at him, biting her lip slightly. "…Jim…"

"Stay with me tonight?" he asked, staring at her steadily.

After a moment, she nodded and took the hand he offered. Jim knew the morning would bring questions that needed answers and the prospect of a future of tiptoeing around each other uncomfortably. But for just that night, it seemed problems dissolved around them. They did nothing but sleep next to each other; Pam had curled up against him as he firmly looped his arm around her waist. He stayed up nearly the entire night, watching her sleep, knowing that there was a chance that she would wake up and regret everything, would pull away again. Still, it was somehow all worth it, just for the few moments of having the knowledge that she felt something too.

Happy New Year, indeed.


End file.
